Regulation of Gastrointestinal Tumor Stem Cells by Traditional Chinese Medicine： A Review
10.13422/j.cnki.syfjx.20250325
- VernacularTitle:中医药调控消化道肿瘤干细胞的研究进展
- Author:
Chenglei ZHENG
1
;
Chengzhi WANG
1
;
Zhenyao YANG
1
;
Mingyang HE
1
;
Wenjun LI
1
;
Dongdong LI
2
;
Peimin LIU
2
Author Information
1. The Second Clinical School， Henan University of Chinese Medicine， Zhengzhou 450046，China
2. The Second Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Chinese Medicine， Zhengzhou 450052，China
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
active ingredients of Chinese medicine;
Chinese medicine compound formulas;
tumor stem cells;
gastrointestinal tumor;
mechanism study
- From:
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae
2025;31(24):280-287
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Gastrointestinal tumors （GTs）， including colorectal cancer， gastric cancer， liver cancer， pancreatic cancer， and esophageal cancer， are increasing in incidence worldwide and have become one of the major diseases threatening human health. Tumor stem cells （TSCs）， an undifferentiated subpopulation within tumor tissues， possess biological characteristics such as self-renewal， multidirectional differentiation， high tumorigenicity， and resistance to radiochemotherapy. They play an important role in the occurrence， progression， recurrence， and metastasis of GTs and have increasingly become a research hotspot in GT treatment. Although modern medicine has made remarkable progress， there remain many problems in therapeutic approaches targeting TSCs. In this context， traditional Chinese medicine （TCM）， with its favorable safety profile and multi-target mechanisms， has shown potential advantages and value in regulating TSCs. It can reduce TSC drug resistance， enhance the sensitivity of tumor cells to chemotherapeutic agents， inhibit tumor growth and metastasis， and has shown unique advantages in improving the quality of life and prolonging the survival of GT patients. Studies have found that active components of Chinese medicine， such as terpenoids， polyphenols， flavonoids， glycosides， and quinones， and Chinese medicine compound formulas， including Zuojin pills， Sijunzi decoction， Biejiajian pills， and Xuanfu Daizhe decoction， can inhibit TSCs-related signaling pathways such as the Notch signaling pathway， the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway， the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B （PI3K/Akt） signaling pathway， and the Hippo signaling pathway. They also reduce the expression of TSC surface markers， including sex-determining region Y-box 2 （SOX2）， sex-determining region Y-box 9 （SOX9）， octamer-binding transcription factor 4 （OCT4）， prominin-1 （CD133）， cluster of differentiation 44 （CD44）， cluster of differentiation 24 （CD24）， and thyroid transmembrane protein 1 （CD90）， thereby hindering TSC differentiation， accelerating their metabolic processes， improving the tumor microenvironment， and consequently inhibiting GT growth. This study collects and analyzes recent research on the regulation of TSCs by TCM in the treatment of GT， aiming to provide a new theoretical basis for tumor therapy with TCM， expand its application in the comprehensive treatment of GT， and offer new therapeutic ideas and methods for clinical practice.
